Ten years is a long time to be away from something you planned to finish. Jose “Alex” Colon had real reasons for the time away: a lung cancer diagnosis that required him to step back from school entirely, and years spent as his mother’s caretaker before she passed. These weren’t detours. They were the life he was living.

When he finally returned to college at 50, it was because someone called.

Navigating the return

A call from ReUp Success Coach Shannon was more than a reminder that pursuing his passion for electrical engineering was still possible. It was a realization. “Going back to school felt like an impossible mountain to climb, but Coach Shannon showed me it’s one step at a time. Her belief in me made me believe in myself.”

Coach Shannon reached out once and then again, a year later. By then, Alex had started taking steps to return, but the support had made those steps feel real.

“If Coach Shannon wouldn’t have reached out, I probably wouldn’t have gone back to school,” Alex says. “It’s like she lit a spark in me at just the right moment.” — Jose “Alex” Colon

The road back wasn’t simple. Alex was living in South Carolina, which meant a move back to Nevada was essential. Re-enrolling meant navigating new administrative procedures, addressing financial concerns, and correcting his academic record: having left mid-semester in 2013, he needed to have the failing grades for those courses expunged before he could move forward. Coach Shannon guided him through that process.

The impact of success coaching

When Coach Shannon began working with Alex, she listened first. Alex was clear about what that meant to him. “I don’t see Shannon as a Success Coach; I see her as a friend. She’s someone who genuinely cares beyond the academic scores, asking the hard questions no one else does.”

Their conversations were candid, sometimes challenging, and always constructive. Alex found that Shannon’s questions helped him realize he already had the answers. “It’s incredible to watch students like Alex transform,” Shannon says. “They start uncertain and then blossom into confident learners with clear goals. That’s the real power of what we do at ReUp.”

Even when it took a full year before Alex was ready to re-enroll, ReUp was there. “Success coaching at ReUp goes beyond academics,” Shannon said. “It’s about connecting on a human level, understanding each student’s life, and tailoring our support to fit their needs.”

“I strongly encourage anyone that’s on the fence to try and talk to someone. It’s never too late. I mean, I just turned 50 and I’m where I should have been maybe in my 30s or late 20s, but it doesn’t matter to me.”

With the support of ReUp, Alex is on his way to earning his electrical engineering degree. But the experience has meant something beyond the credential.

Learner pro tip “For anyone doubting whether it’s too late to return to school, I’m proof it’s not. And having someone by your side makes all the difference.” — Jose “Alex” Colon

“This journey back to school has been about more than just getting a degree. It’s been about finding myself again, and I owe a lot of that to the support I received from ReUp.”